Breastfeeding and Solids

Ditto Rachel K.
This is per our Pediatrician as well.
For the 1st year of life, breastmilk or Formula is a baby's PRIMARY source of nutrition. NOT solids and not other liquids. AND to nurse on-demand.
it is a building-block time for nutrition/development.

Give breastmilk BEFORE solids... and on-demand at other times. Always.
If not, if giving solids 'before' nursing/breastmilk, it will cause a baby to 'wean' from breast.

Instead of nursing him only before bedtime.. I would nurse him more... once you are home. That way, from direct nursing... your milk supply should increase.... to accommodate him. Nurse him on-demand, whenever you are home.... thereby, your milk should increase.

A baby's main source of nutrition for the first year should be from breastmilk or formula. You should offer breast or bottle prior to each meal.

J.,
Breastmilk is ALWAYS beneficial for your baby, especially up to one year of age. I think that having him get at least 3-8oz. cups of breastmilk per day is sufficient liquid intake when he is also eating solid food.

Since breastmilk is really all a 9month old NEEDS and the solids are just added gravy at this time, making sure he has the breastmilk first is a good idea. If he was still thirsty throughout the day, he is old enough to have some water or juice at snack time.

You might consider taking some fenugreek to increase your milk supply or pump one more time during the night if the baby is sleeping all through the night or just pumping before you go to bed. Also eating oatmeal is known to increase milk supply.

K. Voigtsberger, CD(DONA), AAHCC
Breastfeeding Educator
www.wholeheartbirth.com

Nurse him or give him a bottle before solids. He will be getting all the awesome nutrients from your breastmilk and using solids as a supplement if he is still hungry. Offer the solids and if he doesn't want them, no big deal. Try again after the next nursing. You don't mention nursing him after you get home from work (other than at bedtime) but I think you should let him nurse at that time also in order to maintain your milk supply. The main reason for solids at this point is just to introduce him to different textures. Remember he already knows what all this stuff tastes like because it's in your breastmilk!!

My doc. said @ my son's 9mo. checkup that he needs between 18 and 24 oz. of breastmilk/formula. But that is just a guideline. You know your baby best. Also, I was doing a very similar schedule as you were one I returned to work. I tried pumping 2-3 times at work. And i found(by accident) that I could do 1-2 times pumping and still get the same amount as if I did 3! So that took some pressure off. I also would have my son's caretaker supplement w/Formula if needed. By 10 months he weaned himself and so I was glad he was already used to formula at that point! As far as solids, my doc. said to stick w/meats and veggies! Not alot of fruit or grains were necessary yet. Those are mostly fillers! Get him started early on vegetables!! I also started giving my son some dairy prods. at 9mo to start getting his system used to it, as I knew I was going to switch to whole milk at 1yr old! So I gave him pieces of cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese. Stuff like that! One other bit of advice that I learned after the fact. Go easy on giving him the same exact table food as you eat, becuz the sodium levels in our food are usually way higher than he needs and then he'll get used to it and won't want baby food anymore. So I try to make sure i make his seperate from ours so I can use less seasoning on it!

RELAX!! Sounds like your baby is getting plenty to eat. You probably produce more than you think, you just can't pump it. It sounds like he eats well, it would be a bigger deal if he wouldn't eat solids. He can have water with meals. Use bottles for snacks if you want or for just naptime. Nursing just morning and evening when you get home and before bed if you are working is normal for his age up to like 2 or whatever you are comfortable with and what your baby needs. If you stay at home babies this age normally nurse for a snack or nap and you probably do this on the weekend. Think about how you eat, fruit, yogurt or cereal in am, a couple veggies at noon, a snack, then dinner. Water if your baby is thirsty during the day, breastmilk outside of 3-4 times a day, is snack at this point or just a little one on one time with mom. Your baby will eliminate feedings on their own. They hold on to morning, nap and night longest. If you aren't there they will just eat more solids during the day so increase water intake. Should still have 6-8 wet diapers and at least one poopy!! If not, increase intake!!

Until past twelve months, breastmilk all a baby needs. Solids are ONLY for exploration, not nutrition. You should be sticking to your previous nursing schedule and just letting him have food while you do at family meals.

Ignore formula recommendations. Formula is always the same, every scoop/ounce has so many calories. Breastmilk is AWESOME! It changes as your baby ages and most babies never need more than 3-4 ounces at a time, but there are more and more calories and fat in it as time passes after delivery. How cool is that?!
You actually could have started with meat/proteins, but go ahead and start them now. Don't worry about how much he eats, just offer different options, he could be eating bits of your meals, it doesn't have to be anything out of a jar.
The only guidelines are breastfeed as often as he wants, and let him try new and different tastes and textures:) It's really easy when you're breastfeeding!
Keep up the good work!!!

I agree with the other's that have responded. I would nurse him one more time like when you get home from work to help with your Milk supply. Also what kind of pump are you using some are better than others at pumping milk. I would pump both breast at the same time. The Ameda Purely Yours and the Medela Pump In Style Advanced are both very good pumps that you can pump both sides at once. The Ameda is cheaper.